Communism, the Political Spectrum and Russian Political Parties c.

1905

Key Terms
Marx (Marxism) Means of production Proletariat Bourgeoisie Socialism Communism Atheist Communism Liberalism Fascism

Communism is a political philosophy created by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels:

What is Communism?

Karl Marx 1818-1883

Friedrich Engels 18201895

In 1848, they wrote a document called the Communist Manifesto:

Marx and Engels believed the following things:

It is economic trends, and not individuals, that shape History.

In every society, the people who own the means of production (the land, the mines, the factories, etc. control the government). These people use their power over the government to make laws that benefit themselves and exploit (take advantage of) the lower classes.

In Roman times, Patricians owned everything, and they exploited plebeians and slaves:

In the Middle Ages, the king and the aristocracy owned everything and they exploited the serfs:

By Marx's time, the economy had changed. Now most people didn't make money from farming, but from factories and trading. In this new system, a new class of people was powerful. This class was called the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie are the class of businessmen, professionals and white-collar workers. In Marx's time, there were fewer peasants in Western Europe. More and more people worked in towns in factories and mines. They formed a new urban (city-living) working class, which Marx called the proletariat. Marx argued that, in his time, the bourgeoisie was exploiting the proletariat.

Marx thought that the proletariat wouldn't put up with this situation forever. Because they were concentrated in cities and towns, it would be easy for them to organize. He thought that eventually all the workers in the world would revolt, overthrow the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy and establish a new kind of society.

At first, thebe a dictatorship of the proletariat. They wouldn't let any other classes have a say in how things were done. The government would take over all the means of production (all the land, the factories, the mines, etc.) Every ablebodied adult would work at whatever go work he/she was capable of, and those who couldn't work would be looked after. The government would share out all the wealth equally, so that everyone had the same standard of living, no matter what job he/she did. Marx called this phase between capitalism and communism socialism. (Note: some people use the word socialism to mean a government that tries to give everyone a good standard of living but doesn't take away anyone's property. For Marxists, socialism means the government controls everything.)

After a few generations in which everyone had an absolutely equal standard of living and no-one owned anything, Marx thought that all social classes would disappear and the state would not be needed any more. It would "melt away" and people would automatically work together and share what they produced. This phase, he called "Communism". No country has reached this phase (yet).

Communism, Capitalism and Democracy

Communism is not necessarily undemocratic (although most communist regimes in the past have been). For instance, a communist government was elected in Chile in 1970.
The opposite of Communism is Capitalism. Capitalism is a way of organizing the economy so that the means of production (the land, factories, mines, etc.) are privately owned. In a communist/socialist country, the government rations out goods and sets wages for everyone. In a capitalist country, prices and wages are set by the natural process of supply and demand. Not all capitalist countries are democratic. For instance, Nazi Germany was a capitalist country. Most communists are atheists. Marx is quoted as saying religion is the opiate of the masses, meaning that religion is used my the upper classes as a drug to keep the lower classes under control by promising them an escape in the next life. Many communist countries actively discourage religion.

The Political Spectrum

Left Wing
Communism

Right Wing
Social Democracy
Liberalism
The good of the working class must be balanced against the rights of the individual. The government may own some industries, but most land and enterprises are privately owned. There are many regulations protecting workers. Taxes are high and those who cannot work receive money from the state. The government is a multi party democracy. Examples: Germany, The Netherlands
The rights of the individual are the most important thing. This usually includes the right to own property. The rights of the individual should never be compromised, even if it would help the state or the working class. Usually land and industries are privately owned. The government should stay out of people's business as much as possible.

The good of the working class is the most important thing. Countries are unimportant and the rights of the individual can be sacrificed for the good of the group. The government owns everything and allocates jobs, wages and goods so that everyone has an equal standard of living. Usually, the government is a single-party state. (On paper, it has a democratic constitution, but there is only one party to vote for.) Examples: Cuba, North Korea

Conservatism

The rights of the individual must be balanced against the needs of the country. Land and industries are privately owned. The government may interfere if the country really needs it to. The government is a multi-party democracy. Examples: Many political parties in the USA, the UK, Japan, South Korea, etc.

Fascism

Having a strong country is the most important thing. the rights of the individual or of the working class can be sacrificed for the good of the country. Land and industries are privately owned, although the state usually regulates them. The government tries to control many aspects of public and private life. The government is usually a military dictatorship, making little or no pretense at being democratic. Examples: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, China and Taiwan under Chiang Kai Shek, Pinochet's Chile, etc.

The government is a multiparty democracy.

Examples: Many political parties in the USA, the UK, Japan, South Korea, etc.